Friday, September 8, 2017

Fridays with Anj: Where We've Been and Where We're Going


Over the last several months, 'Fridays with Anj' have been spent reviewing the last of the newsprint books from the 80s titled Legion of Super-Heroes. The team was heading to the Baxter series and the Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes continued newsprint stories.

But it was these stories that neared the end of the Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen super-team of creators. And there is definitely something special about his particular run of the book. For me, this was a treat because you just get to see how deep Levitz and Giffen dove into the Legion mythos. There is action here. But mostly these stories are primarily about character. The action seems secondary. I just had to pause for a second to discuss some of the highlights.




As a big fan of Wildfire and Dawnstar, I loved that their relationship was explored in these issues. Again, this wasn't the main plot in any issue but just bubbled along. In particular, this scene where Giffen had Wildfire destroy the suit to say 'Damn' has stuck with me for these 30+ years.


Another major character development over this run was the dramatic change that happened with Shrinking  Violet. From discovering that she had been replaced for more than a year to having her recover from her kidnapping and become a stronger, more determined hero, Vi definitely changed.


And we had the culmination of a number of long-standing plots. Computo was 'drained' from Danielle Foccart. Daxam was terraformed. The White Witch became more confident as a Legionnaire. All fabulous stuff.


And there was a wedding!

Much more happened but you should just read the reviews. Omen/Prophet came and went. Giffen changed his art style. Colossal Boy married Yera. And Supergirl joined the team briefly. This run was so good, perhaps the zenith of the characters.

So where do I go from here?

Well ....


This will be something of an experiment.

The plan will be for me to reprint my reviews of the New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes from my Supergirl site. But, as a bonus, I will comment on my own reviews within the old review. I have the wisdom of time to now see if that Anj was wrong. And hopefully, others from the blog will join in as well.

Buckle up. The New 52 is usually a bumpy ride.

4 comments:

  1. The New 52 book? Taking one for the team, I see.

    Go for it. It'll be interesting to revisit those issues with the benefit -or the burden- of hindsight.

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  2. Enjoyed these reviews from this period of Legion history. The marriage of Princess Projectra and Karate Kid was the issue of title that I ever owned. It holds a special place in my life.

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    Replies
    1. Was the third issue I owned. Not the first, but still very memorable.

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  3. Reading a haul of back issues I picked up recently, it's hard to go from Pat Broderick to Giffen, art-wise...but it grows on you. The art is simpler, yet effective. The guy is obviously a visual storyteller and that is more important in the end.

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